GEO-6 for Youth: Africa
David Ngwenyama
Hans Ngoteya
2.4 Climate change in Africa
Greenhouse gases have risen drastically from 280 parts per million in 1850 to 390 ppm in 2011, an unprecedented rise that has most likely led to global warming and climate change (World Meteorological Organization [WMO] 2015). Despite its relatively insignificant GHG emissions compared to global levels, Africa is severely exposed to the effects of climate change (UNEP 2012). In this regard, climate change will adversely impact the availability of arable land and freshwater in Africa (UNEP 2016b). Consequently, crop yields and livestock output will suffer, which will affect livelihoods and exacerbate an already high youth unemployment rate (Lewis 2018). This vulnerability is compounded by Africa’s weak capacity to adapt to the impacts of climate change (Engelbrecht et al. 2015; Schaeffer et al. 2014; Niang et al. 2014; Boko et al. 2007). It is against this backdrop that African youth need to play a central role in tackling climate change.
Film-based training at Ilalangulu village in the United Republic of Tanzania
Barotse Floodplain - a wetland under siege, Zambia
Barotse Floodplain, one of Africa’s biggest wetlands, lies in the Western province of Zambia. It is estimated to cover an area that can extend up to 1.2 million hectares (Emerton 2005). It has a population of over 250,000 (Nyambe, Chabala, Banda, Zimba and Phiri 2018). For decades, this wetland ecosystem has dictated the way of life, livelihoods, society, and culture of the Lozi people who are skilled fishermen, peddlers, swimmers, and boat builders. Unfortunately, climate change in the form of unusual floods and droughts is emerging as one of the most pressing challenges affecting the livelihoods of the Barotse Floodplain’s communities (Rajaratnam, Cole, Fox, Dierksmeier, Puskur, Zulu, Teoh and Situmo 2015).
Kuomboka Festival
For centuries, the Lozi have practiced wetland farming on the nutrient- rich soil that remains after the floodwater recedes. The plain that produced abundant food through the cultivation of crops like cassava, maize, rice, and sweet potatoes is slowly turning into a clogged mass of reed that remains wet all year-round making planting difficult. In
the past years, a canal system was built to dry and prepare the fertile land for cultivation. In the present day, these canals have turned into evidence of the adverse impacts of climate change as they are becoming clogged due to unusual floods. The changing climate in the Barotse Floodplain also threatens the Kuomboka, one of Zambia’s biggest traditional ceremonies (Banda et al. 2015).
Once a year, the Lozi people pack their belongings onto a boat and leave their homesteads to the encroaching waters of the Zambezi floodplain (Johnston 2010). The Kuomboka attracts foreign tourists, government officials, and traditional leaders from across Zambia. This celebrated annual migration of people to drier lands usually takes place in March, but has been held in April for the past few years because the timing of the floodwater has become increasingly unpredictable with the changing climate. For many years, longstanding indigenous knowledge informed the Lozi about looming floods and triggered migration preparations. However, the seasons have become so unpredictable that many of the traditional signals used in the past cannot provide accurate messages anymore. As this uncertainty persists, the Lozi face difficult choices between permanent migration to arid heights, or adaption to live their migratory lives on a rich but increasingly unpredictable floodplain (Johnston 2010).
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